L4D2 racism accusation "insanity"

Chet Faliszek has said that Valve was baffled by complaints on the Houston Chronicle website recently about "racist undertones" in Left 4 Dead 2.

In a blog earlier this month, Chronicle writer Willie Jefferson said that L4D2 was "already causing an uproar" - maybe true, but not for the reason Jefferson suggested, at least as far as we've seen.

"Set in New Orleans, players will have to fight their way through hordes of zombies - with several of them who appear to be African-Americans. When I saw the first trailer for the game, all I could think about was Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath," he wrote.

"Setting the game in a city that was scene of dead, bloated bodies floating by so soon afterward was a bad call, IMHO. The city has had enough to deal with - Valve, you should have spared them, even if it's just a video game."

Faliszek, speaking to Destructoid, described the piece as "utter insanity".

"There are mixed races of zombies, there are all different races of zombies that you shoot, and since we placed it in New Orleans, that makes it racist?" he responded.

"I honestly re-read the paragraph about five times ... but when two of the characters in your game are African-American, it's a weird thing to be accused of. We're like, 'how does this work'?"

Indeed, said Faliszek, Valve was treating the city with the "utmost respect", and deied the company was trying to make a statement. "We would not cheapen it," he said. "I love that city."

Left 4 Dead 2 is due out on 17th November for PC and Xbox 360 and you can catch up on our latest hands-on impressions and video interview with Valve's Doug Lombardi over on the gamepage.